Man-Computer Symbiosis

“Computing machines can do readily, well, and rapidly many things that are difficult or impossible for man, and men can do readily and well, though not rapidly, many things that are difficult or impossible for computers. That suggests that a symbiotic cooperation, if successful in integrating the positive characteristics of men and computers, would be of great value. ” (http://groups.csail.mit.edu/medg/people/psz/Licklider.html)

This part of the reading resonates me the most because I just experienced how man and computer work together. I’m taking Time studio class this semester. It’s a required course for all art students which teaches you how to edit or making film, video or movie. Before we have computer, what you play in the cinema is what you shoot from the camera because we only had film camera at that time. There is no special effects. However, everything is different now just like “Insight, Opinion, Me” tried to pointed out that things are constantly change. We have digital camera to shoot movies. Movie is no long only from the reality, it also can be created from the computer.

I’m trying to make a video about big bang, not Sheldon’s big bang but the real big bang in the universe that happened approximately 13.7 billion years ago. Here comes two questions, how would i make this video and What does big bang look like? (I don’t want to just draw the big bang by hand.) No one knows what big bang looks like, those videos of big bang online are all from people’s imagination. By google “how to make a universe”, i found there is a software called “after effects”. It sounds familiar just like special effects. I guess “after effects” is “special effects”.

And here is a video how to use after effects to make a galaxy. The computer answered those two questions for me easily and event provide a way for me to make a universe just like computer solved math problem for hruiz.

Back to the passage I chose. The computer did an impossible work for man — creating a universe. All I need to do are just selecting the form, changing the ratio, choosing a color, editing the speed, adding a music and so on so forth. Computer will calculate and solve the formula readily, well, and rapidly. However, without man, computer is just a “decoration”. It won’t automatically create a universe for you. It won’t even know what big bang is. That software won’t even exist if man didn’t invent it. That’s why man also can do job that is impossible for computer because we have imagination and the ability to create fantasy creature. Computer to us is just a tool. A tool which helps us to do our jobs efficiently. This is called “symbiotic cooperation”. In kdurante‘s post, she worried about that computer will taking place of human brain. I don’t agree with it because just like I said that computer is just a “decoration” without man. Computer doesn’t have a soul but man did. I agree with what lauramarie mentioned that “We can also argue that they have also hurt us but I think establishing a middle ground in where not too much technology is used would be prudent.”